 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
St Cloud Times Article (For this woman, life isn't business as usual)St Cloud Times Article (Stimulus funding gives boost to broadband) St Cloud Times Article (ROI - January 2010 edition - Page 12) Central Minnesota Women (pdf) | Dairy Star Enterprising Women Magazine Announces Its Class of 2010 Minnesota Business Magazine (pdf) For this woman, life isn't business as usualBy Britt Johnsen, bljohnsen@stcloudtimes.com Published in the St. Cloud Times, St. Cloud, Minnesota World/Nation section, pages 1A and 5A, Jan 27, 2008 WATKINS — At 5 a.m. a quiet neighborhood in Cold Spring is dark as Sandy Hansen slips into her running shoes. When it's too cold for a walk or run to clear her mind, she retreats to the basement treadmill. She uses her mornings to think about the day ahead, reflect on life, and thank God for all she has, despite all she has lost. Hansen's husband died of leukemia complications five years ago this month. Sandy and Randy Hansen had been married for just 15 months, a marriage mired in disease. He was diagnosed two years into their relationship — and just two months before they wed. She hasn't stopped facing challenges since. The former insurance agent knew little about her husband's feed business, which was struggling through a tough time in the agriculture industry. When Randy died, she was determined to keep it going. So she showed up for work at the feed store in Watkins. Raw with grief but persistent, she kept asking questions until she got answers. Five years later, business has more than doubled, and customers remain loyal. Sandy Hansen, now 35, said the business gave her a reason to get up every day. She learned about meaning and faith, and she cemented new friendships. Her long days distracted her from fully processing her grief. She still wonders aloud what feelings she has yet to face. But she's unafraid as she walks on. She has faith the road ahead contains answers to her questions. 'One of the best days' Sandy and Randy's story started as purely as it ended — peacefully and gracefully. They met while at a Cold Spring bar with mutual friends one evening in May 2000. He immediately paid close attention to her, recalls Sandy's friend Shelly Kalthoff. "Randy was all about keeping Sandy happy," Kalthoff said. "He was ... a gentleman. She wanted to be treated like a queen, and he treated her like a queen. He took care of her." They slow-danced later, and at the end of the night, Randy asked her out on a date. Sandy said she doesn't remember a moment when she realized they would marry. They just made sense together. Sandy grew up on dairy farm near Albany and Randy was raised on a dairy and hog farm near Cold Spring. They each wanted to live a traditional, uncomplicated life: careers in business, frequent family get-togethers and weekends with their friends. Daily breakfast and dinner together. Love, companionship and a shared Christian faith. Perhaps a family of their own one day. They marked milestones: anniversaries, birthdays, family get-togethers. Soon they began scheduling their weekends together — ballgames, church on Sundays, movies, holidays. Their lives became one. But their life unraveled as quickly as it solidified. In August 2002, Randy noticed orange-size bruises on his knees. He played baseball but didn't get hit often. He thought he'd check it out. It was leukemia, a word that shocked and numbed. A word they Googled the night they found out. A word that gave a life expectancy of three to five years. A word that wrenched rivers of tears from Sandy's soul. And so began 15 months of hospital visits. From September to October, Randy and Sandy stayed in a Minneapolis hospital. Some days brought happiness and hope; others prompted tears and worries about what was ahead. A week before their wedding, Randy was released from the hospital. Like the way they met, their wedding at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Freeport was graceful and smooth. They delegated duties and details to family. It was a tear-filled day shared by 425 family members and friends. After the joy came the cold reality of Randy's sickness. More treatments. A short remission, but a return of leukemia. He would need a bone-marrow transplant and an extended stay in Minneapolis. Randy and Sandy moved into a small apartment blocks from the hospital. Then came Christmas Day 2002 — a peaceful day that Sandy calls "one of the best days of my life." They decided to surprise their families, even though leaving the hospital was not allowed. But they didn't want to be told what to do. Sandy, who had become Randy's full-time caretaker, drove from the Minneapolis hospital to their families' rural Central Minnesota homes. He slept the entire way. They ate. They opened gifts. They cried. "People were so happy he was there," she said. A week later his cancer's complications became too much for his body. On Jan. 3, 2003, Randy's immune system failed him. Sandy was struck by loneliness and a sadness that invaded her thoughts. Still, she knew what she had to do. Inside the peach and tan walls of that hospital room — one bed, one TV, a chair by the window — Randy and Sandy reasoned they were enduring the experience for a greater cause. They vowed to teach others when they got through it, hoping to help them cope with illness, survive tragedy and not take life for granted. "We were trying to fight for his life. ... We were best buddies. We were in it together." Randy didn't survive to tell his story. But Sandy still wanted to fulfill their mission. New responsibility She was granted the daunting responsibility of running Randy's feed business, Ag Venture Feed & Seed Inc. in Watkins. To say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement. She had studied housing development at St. Cloud State University. She knew nothing about accounting or budgeting basics. She knew nothing about the products Ag Venture sold. She knew nothing of the soybean mill, concentrate, protein and other aspects of animal nutrition. She knew nothing about contracting commodities. She felt like she had no choice but to take over the business that Randy had owned for more than 10 years. It was struggling financially. Bankruptcy was even an option at one point, but selling it wasn't. So she talked with the employees. One day in a Watkins cafe she and the employees met to discuss what would come next. She knew some doubted her. She felt out of place, she said during an interview one day at the feed store, wearing a pink Ag Venture shirt with black boots, her blond hair half pulled back, her blue eyes piercing underneath dark eyeliner. Like many other obstacles, she wasn't going to let skepticism get in the way. "Let's give this a try," she told employees. That's when the learning process began — a process she calls a "school of hard knocks." She knew little and her husband left behind little knowledge of policies and procedures. "My husband died with a lot of information," she said. But when she needed answers, she asked. She never pretended to know something she didn't. Sandy relied on employees and customers to educate her about good financial practices, about their products and about the industry. Those are people who all helped create a successful business. "I know I can't do it without them," she said. She has the support of Randy's family, including his mother, Eileen Hansen, and one of his brothers, Rick Hansen. Rick came to work for Sandy about six months after his brother died. "She just dug right in there," Eileen Hansen said. "She's doing a beautiful job." Still grieving, there were too many 10-hour days. Days that would distract her from processing the intense pain and sadness she felt as a young widow. Days where the question would never stop nagging: How am I going to make this work? Some days she couldn't wait to get home and go to sleep, so she could stop thinking. She rarely committed to activities or social functions. She was just too tired. There were days that she couldn't stay at work and she would go home to collapse in grief. She felt helpless and foggy. She would stare out a window or clean the house when it didn't need cleaning. "Some days, even giving a minute at a time was all I could do," she said. "... It's a day-to-day survival." What was important was to appear strong. Don't cry in front of employees or customers. Keep on top of day-to-day operations and the big picture. Her customers and employees knew how important it was for her to seem rock solid. To appear emotionally weak is to signal a weakness in business. "You can't let people know when times are tough," said Dennis Landwehr, of Landwehr Dairy, which gets its feed from Ag Venture. While Sandy assumes some questioned her and whispered about her, many said they never doubted her, and talk fondly of her strength and determination. "A lot of people would have packed up to sell the business and move on," said Daniel Kohls, district sales manager for supplier Form-A-Feed. Dan Schlangen and his wife, who run a dairy farm near Eden Valley, admire her intelligence and strength. "I don't know how she didn't break down more," he said. "I just admire her positive attitude, more than anything." Relationships It took time and hard work, but Sandy Hansen became knowledgeable about the feed business. "(Our) main goal is to help the customers do well," she said. "We are concerned on a personal level that they succeed. ... We want our customers to know how important they are." She's comfortable as she talks about the store. She's calm as she talks about taking samples of feed to farms. And she feels good that there's no longer the nagging question of how she'll make it work; rather, she and her team talk about how they can keep the momentum going, how they can continue improving. Sandy is not solely responsible for doubling the amount of feed that goes out to farms, or tripling sales for the company. But co-workers and customers said she made good decisions, partly due to her determination to understand the business, and partly due to her natural intelligence and knack for organizing. Her relationships also were key — relationships that spread warm words about the business. She bonded with Schlangen. He and his wife would come into the store, and sometimes brought with them a pan of salted nut roll bars — one of Sandy's favorites. He knew the kind of pain that comes from deep loss, and the kind of support she would need. His father died almost 10 years ago. He told her to stay strong and rely on her friends. At times they shared a couple of tears at the store counter, a rare but important moment when Sandy could ease her guard. But she never fully broke down, he said, something that still amazes him. "I always said, man, she's made of cement," he said. "But she's warm." He still comes to the store about once a week. They remember Randy fondly in conversation. Such relationships helped the business become what it is. She emphasizes the team atmosphere and marvels at customers and employees. Everyone's role is important. "No one can say, that's your job, not mine," she said. Her flexibility and openness help, too. Sandy is as willing to work on a computer as she is to throw 50-pound bags of feed into a truck, Schlangen said. Eldred Froehling, 79, had worked at the feed store since it opened more than 20 years ago as Tri-County Feeds. Like others, he speaks highly of Sandy and her abilities to lead the business in a small community. "She pays attention to details and is willing to learn," he said. Revelations Somewhere between the hospital room in Minneapolis and the feed store in Watkins, Sandy Hansen learned to live again. It took years. It took reflection and time spent talking to important people in her life, including some close friends and family. She had cared for Randy for so long that she lost her identity. She had to reinvent herself. Her spirituality was her base. "We have a God that does not let us down." Sandy had a watershed year last year. She made a New Year's resolution to "start living again." She hadn't done much besides work and grieve. So she took up running, something she hadn't done in 10 years. She joined Toastmasters in St. Cloud and started playing volleyball. She joined the local economic development authority and the Twin Cities-based National Speakers Association. She's become more social, going to happy hour with friends, attending theater or going shopping. "I think I found a balance," she said. She put up Christmas decorations for the first time since Randy died — snowmen stockings by a windowsill, and a Santa in a sleigh on the floor. She accepted life as a single woman. She had dated, but finally stopped resenting that she's single. And she faced a stage of grief she had ignored: anger. She also cut back her hours to a more reasonable 35-40 per week. She recalls a day in the hospital when she and Randy talked about how they never wanted to work their lives away. "We so longed for everyday life," she said, like cutting the grass and doing laundry or dishes. Eating at Anton's or Red Lobster. Talking with friends. "If (working is) all you do, then what do you have at the end of your life?" she said. Although Randy wasn't around to see it, she has kept her word. She thinks he'd be beaming if he could see her. "It gave me a whole new reason to experience what we can get to see," she said. Residual grief still permeates her life. Christmas is usually the hardest time. A week before Christmas 2007 she woke and recalled her memories of Randy on ventilators. And it's the little things she misses the most. Like Raisin Bran with Randy in the morning before work. Dinner together and watching TV on the couch side by side. His notes that read, "Have a good day. See you tonight." There were nights that she still watched out the window, hoping his truck would pull into the driveway. But she prayed to God. She leaned on friends and family. She let her guard down when she most needed it. "Even when you think you hit rock bottom, there's still hope," she said. The road ahead When Sandy goes for her morning walk or run, she thinks about the day ahead, the road ahead. Daily she thanks God for all she has, despite all she has lost. There are days she wonders if she has truly processed all her feelings. No one is probably ever done grieving, she reasons. People ask from time to time why she has not remarried. She's as open to the idea as she is to other possibilities in life. She'll keep going with the business, but if the time should come to sell it, she might be open to that, too. Life as she knew it changed forever. She's not living the traditional family life she thought she would. But she learned powerful life lessons and gained a strength she didn't know she had. She has learned to appreciate little things: When someone works an extra hour. When she's invited to dinner. Stepping into a warm house. Sleeping in her own bed. Enjoying health. Nature. And she's ready for death when it comes. Where she was afraid, she's now courageous. She knows there's more ahead. "The big things in our life are very much out of our control," she said. "... I just pray for God's will." Copyright (c) St. Cloud Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc. From rock bottom to booming businessHansen worked through tragedy to build her late husband's passion WATKINS, Minn. - Sandy Hansen knows what it feels like to be at rock bottom; she's been there. But with a little determination, lessons learned the hard way and a good team of supporters, Sandy and her business have made it back on solid ground. When her husband, Randy Hansen, passed away from complications with leukemia on Jan. 3, 2003 - just one year after they were married - Sandy became the owner of a business she knew nothing about, in an industry she knew little about. Randy had owned AgVenture Feed and Seed Inc. - a full-service feed and seed supply store in Watkins, Minn. - in a partnership since 1993. Shortly before he was re-diagnosed with cancer in August 2002 (he was originally diagnosed in August 2001), he bought out his partner and became the sole owner of the business. "He was excited about being on his own," Sandy said of her husband. At that time, Sandy was working as an insurance agent. Although she had grown up on a dairy farm near Albany, Minn., she had little experience in agriculture beyond that, and the details of Randy's business were something they rarely discussed. From August 2001 to March 2002, Randy underwent monthly chemo treatments. After a short remission during the summer of 2002, the cancer was back that August. In October 2002, Randy began a bone marrow transplant. Through it all, Randy remained optimistic and had every intention of returning to his business once the battle with cancer was won. But just before he began the bone marrow transplant, Sandy pushed Randy to talk with her about AgVenture and what would happen if he did not survive. "One evening he scribbled down on a sheet of paper what he all had and what would happen with the business. I used that sheet of paper a lot after he died," Sandy said. "His suggestion was to sell the business if he didn't make it." When the time came, however, selling was not an option. Between Randy's absence, the low economy and the recent buyout, AgVenture was near financial ruin. Sandy took a leave of absence from her insurance job and entered a world unknown to her. "I didn't feel like I had a choice [but to keep the business]," Sandy said of why she didn't sell. "My goal was to figure out the business and sell it, but it was in way too deep to ever break even. I didn't feel like I had a choice but to try and turn it around." The following months were very difficult for Sandy. At a time when all she wanted to do was grieve the loss of her husband she was forced to make some hard business decisions and appear strong to the community. "I went through a very challenging time. I didn't know the business, but we couldn't appear weak to the community. We had to prove we were still a viable entity," Sandy said. "Looking back to that period of time, [I felt] I was hanging on to a knot at the end of a rope hoping I could keep hanging on and make it through." Initially, it was a challenge just surviving the tragedy, emotionally as well as financially. "Every day I wondered if this was the day the bank would say, 'No more,'" she said. Another challenge was being a woman in a male-dominated industry, especially having no prior knowledge of the business. Some tough lessons helped her get through. One of those lessons was opening up to others. "For a long time I wanted to hide in a cave. I wasn't open to listening," she said. "One lesson I learned was to start listening to what others said. I began listening to the employees here; they knew more than I did. I began asking them continuous questions." "The 'school of hard knocks' also teaches you pretty quick when something doesn't go well," she added. "I said a lot of prayers." Two people that helped her - and AgVenture - through were Jeff Brinker, Randy's nephew, and Rick Hansen, Randy's brother. Jeff had worked at AgVenture several years and often acted as manager when Randy was gone for treatments. Rick came on in September 2003. Together, the three acted as a support system for each other and slowly turned the business around. They sold AgVenture's semi truck, made a few staff changes and took on a new feed line and new customers when one local feed dealer closed. They also began taking advice from the experts around them. "We started taking a team approach [to the business]," Jeff said. "That's important - not to operate in isolation. That's what I did [at first]," Sandy said. "In hindsight it's very toxic. You need to find a confidant to support you through the tough times." "There's a lot more power working in a team than working in isolation," she said. In the seven years she has owned it, AgVenture has more than quadrupled its sales, an accomplishment that is at times awe-inspiring. "I'm very thankful and humbled by it," Sandy said of AgVenture's success. "It's almost surreal that we are still here. We had some really neat people that gave us a chance." Among those people are AgVenture's customers. "We have lots of loyal customers and we're thankful for that," Rick said. "They allowed us the opportunity to figure [the business out] and gave us a chance," Sandy said. Basic hard work and determination were what carried them through in the end. "We always had an attitude of a flicker of hope, that if we tried long enough [the business] would live," Sandy said. "We had the desire to see it live." With AgVenture back on solid ground, Sandy, Rick and Jeff continue to look for new directions in which they can take their business. While Sandy has no current plans to sell the business, she has taken a different role in its day-to-day happenings as she networks to continue building AgVenture as well as her second business - Rock Solid Motion. Rock Solid Motion is Sandy's motivational speaking business that was formally started one and one-half years ago. Through it, Sandy tells her story of loss and growth and how she made it through. She now works with businesses and various community groups to assist them in finding the path during times of hardship. It is something she and Randy had planned to do together. "It was our dream that we would share our story together," Sandy said. "I remember the afternoon we talked about it. We were going to share with others the biggest lessons we learned through our struggle with leukemia." Although Randy is no longer by her side, Sandy is living out the dream for the both of them and has done talks across the country. In each session, Sandy uses the trials and tribulations from her own life to motivate and give hope - topics very relevant to people struggling in today's economy. "I really felt we were at rock bottom for a long time, so far down we couldn't see the light," Sandy said. "That's how a lot of people are feeling right now." "Right now the economy is concerning to me, but I look back and - in comparison - it's not so bad," she said. "If you just try and keep going something has got to break eventually."Stimulus funding gives boost to broadbandBy Britt Johnsen, bljohnsen@stcloudtimes.comPublished in the St. Cloud Times, St. Cloud, Minnesota When Sandy Hansen's Watkins agriculture supply business swapped its dial-up Internet connection for a high-speed one almost five years ago, she and her employees helped more farmers make decisions about whether to buy feed. "It just made everything a lot easier and a lot quicker," said Hansen, owner of Ag Venture Feed & Seed Inc. "We were able to provide more customers with detailed information." Ag Venture is just the kind of rural business local and state officials say is helped by expanding access to broadband Internet. Minnesota is getting $1.7 million in federal stimulus funding for mapping high-speed Internet access and showing where gaps in coverage exist — which is often in rural areas. Local economic development officials and others say broadband access is a significant player in economic development and innovation. They argue that the state will need access to faster Internet connections as more businesses, schools and health clinics rely on online services. Still, local government agencies aren't poised to shell out funding for more access. But they plan to encourage providers to offer service in places where residents and businesses say they need it. The Legislature is expected to take up this issue in February as it considers recent recommendations made by a state task force advocating for high-speed Internet connections. Rick King, chairman of the Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force, said about 94 percent of the state has access to broadband. But that's given the current definition of broadband under the Federal Communications Commission. That definition is much slower than where the state should be if it wants to be economically competitive, King said. The current definition of high-speed Internet is 768,000 bits per second, which translates into a two-hour movie taking 23 hours to download, King said. The task force would like the speed to become as fast as 10 million bits per second, making it so the same movie would take less than two hours to download. If the FCC changed its broadband definition to the task force's recommended 10 million bits per second, 18 percent of the state would have access to high-speed Internet, King said. Local work Some local officials support more and better access to high-speed Internet. Tom Moore, president of the St. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership, is one. "I think access to broadband is crucial to small businesses," he said. He said in the coming months a comprehensive economic development strategy will be created by local business leaders and elected officials. People from the four-county area — Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties — will study local economic development needs. He said in 15 upcoming community forums throughout the four-county area, they will be asking residents about what they think community infrastructure priorities should be. That means they'll ask about access to high-speed Internet connectivity, Moore said. Private investment often follows new infrastructure, he said. "I think that's why broadband is such a great opportunity for businesspeople and entrepreneurs," he said. "It makes them able to compete globally." Nancy Hoffman, economic development director for Benton County, said she hopes providers can fill gaps where businesses and residents aren't getting access or do not find it affordable. She said she is working with a Blandin Foundation strategic advisory board to get more broadband access. The board recently applied for stimulus funding that could, if granted, make Benton County a demonstration community to use broadband in "new, creative ways," she said. The stimulus bill made $7.2 billion available for broadband initiatives. Hoffman said some holes exist in Benton County, particularly far east and some places in the north part of the county. More people need it, particularly businesses because it makes them more productive, she argued. "Productivity is everything," she said. "People don't have access or very good access. A couple people (that Hoffman talked to) are Web designers and it slows them down quite a bit," she said. "Dial-up just doesn't do it anymore." Fred Nolan, superintendent of Foley schools, said broadband has the potential to improve the way children learn, too. He pointed to a report he received last week that showed success in a program tested from summer 2008 to December 2009 in seven Central Minnesota school districts, including Foley schools, as well as St. Cloud Technical and Community College. The program was called Moodle. It allowed teachers to interact with students and parents online at any time and any place. Teachers created forums, homework assignment drop boxes, assessments and other tools for students to use. Administrators used it for teacher training and communication within and across districts. Needless to say, Nolan is a big fan of high-speed Internet. Foley schools and Benton Cooperative Telephone Co. even teamed up to offer parents a $25 rebate on this year's school fees if their family signed up for broadband services. He predicts more students will be taught online in the future. "To me, it's like the railroads of the 1900s," he said. "This is the railroad of the 21st century." Viability Some challenges persist in getting more broadband Internet access to communities with gaps. Nolan said even if Minnesota gets 100 percent access to high-speed Internet, that doesn't mean everyone will be able to afford it. "It's a huge equity issue for rural Minnesota," he said. That means even if more schools wanted to use high-speed Internet to replace classroom activity a couple days per week, they can't mandate it unless people can afford to use it, he said. And funding could be an issue. Just like every organization facing budget concerns after fallout from a historic recession, money will be key in getting new initiatives going. Benton County likely won't put up funding, Hoffman said. "Especially now," she said. "It's not a good time because of budget cutbacks. It's hard to think of implementing something new." King said it would cost about $160 million to get the kind of statewide coverage his task force is recommending. He said it would require public-private partnerships to pay for the access. He thinks private investment will continue as it has in the past several years and is confident the state can reach goals recommended by the task force. But Hoffman expressed doubt the task force could reach its aspiration of getting 100 percent high-speed Internet access in Minnesota by 2015. Despite potential hurdles, she predicted broadband access will become as essential and ubiquitous as electricity became. "I think it can be done eventually," she said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Enterprising Women Magazine Announces Its Class of 2010:
CARY, NC: Sandy Hansen of AgVenture Feed & Seed Inc., Watkins and Rock Solid Motion, Cold Spring, received national recognition as one of the Enterprising Woman of the Year for 2010.
Enterprising Women, the national magazine for women business owners, announced its eighth annual list of the “Enterprising Women of the Year.” The top women business owners from across the United States and Canada were recognized for outstanding business growth, mentoring and supporting other women in business, and leadership in their communities. Honorees gathered in Miami Florida for the gala awards dinner on March 18 and were presented their award.
With an unprecedented number of entries this year, the magazine’s editorial team screened hundreds of nominations that were submitted. The publication’s Advisory Board, comprised of more than one hundred outstanding women entrepreneurs from the United States and around the globe, assisted in the final selection process.
"The Enterprising Women of the Year Award is one of the most prestigious recognition programs in the world for women entrepreneurs. In light of the challenging economy, this year’s honorees have overcome many obstacles to grow their businesses, give back to others, and really shine as leaders in their communities," Monica Smiley, publisher/CEO of Enterprising Women, said.
|
|
209 2nd Street
|
||||||||
